Future NASA spacecraft could be powered by zombies, or rather, Xombies – vertical take-off, vertical landing rockets of the kind seen here flying against the backdrop of the Mojave Desert.
VTVL rockets, as the industry calls them, are a mainstay of sci-fi but have not been used much in real-life space exploration. The Apollo Lunar Module, which ferried astronauts from orbit to the surface of the moon and back, is the only VTVL craft that has been used on a NASA mission.
Other VTVL rockets have been developed and tested on Earth, but their guidance algorithms often date back to the Apollo era. NASA is using the Xombie rocket, developed by Masten Space Systems in Mojave, California, to test new algorithms, which should cut fuel usage and enable missions to a wider variety of destinations.
This latest flight, which took place on 30 July, simulated a course correction during a landing on Mars. The rocket's flight algorithms were able to divert it from an incorrect landing point and land it safely.
The Xombie isn't the only VTVL rocket on the up and up. SpaceX continues to test its Grasshopper rocket, which has achieved an altitude of 325 metres and yesterday demonstrated its own course-correction skills.
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